Electrolytic cells



y 1961 R. M. R. ORNHJELM 2,986,513

ELECTROLYTIC CELLS Filed June 4, 1957 INVENTOR. let/NA R M4 UR/TZ zQA FA asso/v OQ/VHJL-I M A TTOR/VEX United States Patent ELECTROLYTIC CELLS Runar Mauritz Rafaelsson Ornhjelm, Kuusankoski, Finland Filed June 4, 1957, Ser. No. 663,384

3 Claims. (Cl. 204-250) ners. Various kinds of conducting bars, or rods, have been used extending longitudinally of the cells, with the common arrangement being for the rods, or bars, to be carried over the cover of the cell by carrier bars, while the rods or bars in turn have carried the anodes at spaced positions therealong. Such conducting bars, or rods, have i been connected to the anodes by separate conductors engaging the conducting and supporting shafts of the anodes. As electrolysis proceeds in such cells, it results in the disintegration or wear of the anodes, which takes place, chiefly on their undersurfaces.

periodic adjustment of the position of the anodes to avoid, among other things, uneven distribution of the electric current among the various anodes.

To provide for such adjustment the co'nductors from,

This makes necessary the conducting bars or rods to the anode shafts must be flexibly formed. They can be either in the form of multiconductor cables, or of copper strips rectangular in crosssection and sufliciently thin to provide flexibility. Here the current carrying capacity of such strips would be achieved by imparting sutficient width to them.

The disadvantages of the prior art constructions just described are that they are complicated, and adjustment of the position of the anodes is diflicult. This latter is particularly true in the course of initial assembly of the cells and of reassembling the cells after they have been disassembled.

The foregoing and other disadvantages of the prior art constructions are avoided by the structure of the invention which, in addition, goes several steps further in advancing the art. Generally speaking, this is achieved'by i employing the cover of the cell as the principal conductor for the electricity, and mounting a carrier bridge for the 1 anode shafts on and above the cell cover. This bridge suppo'rts the anodes and is supported itself in spaced re-v lation with respect to the cell cover with the supporting arrangement serving to conduct the electricity to the anodes. In this manner the steps that have to be taken for effective adjustment of the anodes are materially reduced, for the only adjustment necessary is that of the anode supports, or shafts, with respect to the bridge.

Insofar as the conducting of electric current to the anodes is concerned, the bridge and supporting structure therefor which carries the anodes and is itself carried by the cell cover, can be readily dimensioned to conduct the electricity with a minimum loss of energy. Also, exactly even distribution of electric energy to the shafts of the respective anodes is assured. Finally, effective adjustable mounting of the ano'des with respect to the bridge, as well as provision for the removal of the anodes, can be readily achieved, since the prior art limitations on such adjustment and removal are eliminated.

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Patented May 30, 1961 It is, accordingly, a principal object of the invention to provide for improvements in the mounting of anodes in electrolytic cells.

Another object is to provide such improvements while, at the same time, simplifying the structure employed therefor.

A further object is to provide more positive and effective mounting of the anodes for electrolytic cells than has heretofore been thought possible.

A still further object is to facilitate accurate adjustment of anode plates beyond anything that has heretofore been achieved.

Further and more detailed objects are to facilitate the exact positioning of anodes in the assembly of an electrolytic cell, to provide for more positive conductance-of electricity to the anodes, and to provide for-such conductance being efiected in a more uniform manner.

Further and more detailed objects of the invention will in part be obvious and in part be pointed out, as the description of the invention taken in conjunction 'with the accompanying drawing proceeds.

In the single figure of that drawing, a portion of an electrolytic cell embodying the invention is shown partly in section and partly in elevation.

Referring to .the illustrative embodiment of the invention in detail, the electrolytic cell shown has a cover 1 provided with an opening 2 therethrough for the passage of the supporting stem 3 of an anode plate 9. The stem 3 is preferably formed of graphite like the anode plate itself. An upstanding collar 4 is secured to the upper surface of the cell cover 1, surrounding the opening 2. The rubber cover 5 applied to the inner surface of the cell cover 1 has a sleeve portion 5 whichextends up through the opening 2 and is turned over the collar 4 and down the outside thereof. A vertically extensible gland or tube 6 of rubber, or other suitable material, has its lower endoverlying the downturned portion'of the sleeve 5'. That lower end and the downturned'iportion of the sleeve 5' are clamped" together in tight 'engagement and such downturned portion is clamped against the outer surface of the collar 4 by means of a split clamping ring 7, having suitable take-up means at the opposed ends thereof.

The upper end of the bland 6 lies' against the outer surface of a collar 11 of hard, insulating material inset into the upper outer corner of the stem 3. This upper end of the gland 6 is secured in leak tight engagement with the outer surface of that collar by means of a split clamping ring 10 similar to the ring 7. 'In this way the gland member 6 is protected from theeffect of the heat carried by the graphite anode stem 3 when the cell is in o'peration.

At is lower end the graphite stem 3 is suitably secured in the anode plate 9, threading being the means here illustrated at 3 for effecting that securing. The mounting of the stem 3 from above is eifected by first carrying the stem 3 by means of a carrier and conductor bar 8.

. The bar 8, formed of brass or other suitable conducting material, harder than the graphite stem 3, has its lower portion threadedly secured at 8 within a threaded bore provided down into the stem 3.

The upper part of the bar 8 passes through an opening in the bridge member 13 which is fixedly mounted above the cover 1 by suitable mounting and conducting supports 13'. These supports may be of such size, position and number as required for effective support and for conducting the electricity as desired. The bridge member 13 extends along above the cell cover 1 carrying the various anodes of the cell as it is itself carried by the cell cover.

The bar 8 is effectively adjustably clamped in place by a clamping arrangement which also conducts 616C".

number as the screws 14, have their inner surfaces formed .for mating engagement with the exterior surface of the bar 8.

It will be ,apparentfrom theprovision of the three point suspension of the bar.8 that exact horizontal positioning of the same can be e'fiected by the adjustment of the screws 14. Furthermore, of :course, vertical positioning ofthe'barS and thus of the stem 3,, which together make -up lthe-anod'e shaft, and the anode plate"9 can be readily and surely effected by "the proper tightening of the clamping screws 14. Not only does this make for atig'ht eflfectiVephysical mounting capable of being readily adjusted,

but alsoiit provides an eficctivepath for the flow of electric currentfrom the bridge .13 through the annulus 12,

the screws 14 and the segments 15 to the conducting and supporting bar 8.

Suitable means is provided for engaging the bar 8 to hold it and move it verticallyas desired. '-In this instance,

.suchmeans takes the form of the projection 17- extending .from upper end .of the bar 8, which projection is perforated at 17for the reception of. any suitable'holding .or hoist means.

The provision of a composite supporting shaft for the anode plateinvolving :a graphite stem and a conductor and :supporting bar ofharder material received within .-that stem, .e'liminates anurnber of the drawbacks of prior ,art constructions and involves substantial improvement over thepriorart. In the prior art, where anodeplates .were carriedby supporting shafts of material subject to thecorrosiVe action within the cell, the attempt was made to protect against such action by applying a sheathing orcoveringto shafts of non-corrosive materials, which'by their natures weregenerallynon conductors of electricity.

Thispractice had .various drawbacks. For one thing it v was di fiicult to make a tight seal where the covered shaft engaged the anode p late. .Above that, the covered shaft traversed the part of the cell containing 'such corrosive -.-rnaterials as :wet chlorinev gas whenlthe cell was in opera- ,tion, defects in the coverings-caused trouble.

For one thing, should the .coveringshave flaws in them,

they might crack or'become porous, allowing the corrosivelmaterial to attackthe conducting stem without the .results of .it beingdetachable from-outside of the cell until something seriousihappened. The possibility of the covering cracking was always present, since normally the coefiicients of heat expansion for the conducting member and the coating member would be quite different, while the heat .gained .in the operation of these cells is quite ,substantial. At their best, the coatings were rather .in

the .nature ofinecessary-nuisances, for they were "fairly jthick, .wouldlnormally :be non conductors,'and so they would just take up, space'in the cell.

It is apparent 'fromthe foregoing description of the invention that these specificzdrawbacks of the prior art constructions, as well asthe general onesinitially pointed out, are eliminated by theinvention'construction. The

-graphite "supportingstem ibeing a'good conductor of electricity-'andbeing, at 'the'same time, highly resistant 'to'the corrosive'action-of-the contents of the cell, is-the best means for supporting the anode plates which are *th'emselves made ofthe sarne material Noproblem of diiference in -m'aterialsis involved where .the stem and the plate are :joined together. :Fully :efiective electrical conductivity between the bar '8 and'the stem 8 is achieved by proper forming of the threads 8. Nowhere is the bar 8 exposed to the action of the cell contents. In addition, the construction of the invention facilitates precise and effective adjustment of the position of the anode plate 9 by the effectiveness of the clamping action which can be exerted by the segments 15 against the supporting bar 8, of brass or other hard material. Precise adjustment here can be achieved through the proper threading of the adjusting screws 14 and the bores in the annulus 12 receiving them. Even and effective conducting of electricity from the br'idge structure to the anode shafts is also provided for. Leakage of gas from the cell is doubly protected against' by the sleeve'5 and the gland 6 while, at the same time, permitting the desired adjustment of the stem 8.

Though in the foregoing, specific materials and specific assemblies of elements have been shown and described, it isto .be understood that such showing and description are for the purpose of illustrating the invention and that the invention is not to be construed as being limited thereby. -Speaking more generally, 'it will be clear to those skilled in this art that the practice of the invention lends itself readily to various modifications.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire-to secure by 'Letters Patent is:

l. Inelectrolytic cell construction, a cell coverformed asthe principal conductor of electricity for the anodes of the .cell, a one-piece elongated strip of conducting material forming a supporting and conducting bridge positioned above said cover and extending longitudinally along the length thereof in spaced relation with respect thereto, vertical supporting members rigidly and fixedly secured at their lower ends to said cell cover and at their 35 upper ends to said'bridge member, at spaced positions along the length of said cell, .said cell cover and-said bridge being formed with a plurality of pairs ofalig'ned openings therethrough, .a plurality of anode plates Within said cell, .an anode stein extending upwardly from-each oi-said plates, one of said stems extending through each -of,said pa'irs o'fopenings, said stems extending to, a;pos'ivtion. abovesaidibridge, said supporting members forsaid bridge being positioned at either side of said stems, mountingand conducting .means carried on the upper surface of said bridge and surrounding said stems, .said .meansaincluding elements for clamping said stems 'in .desiredvertical position and for conducting current from said brid-ge'to said stems, said clamping means including 'adjustablemeans'for enabling said stems to beadjusted ;5O

vertically, .said bridge :and .said clampin g .and adjustable means'being the sole means providing vertical support for .said stems and for conducting electricity fromvsaid cell ,cover .to said stems.

'2'. Electrolytic cell construction as in claim :1 said adjustablemeans including .a plurality of current conduct- .ingshoesin clamping engagement with said anodestems.

3.!Electr0lytic cell construction as in claim 1, said mounting and conducting meansincluding rings surrounding said anode stems, said rings being integrally secured to the upper surface of said bridge, segments within jsaidmings formed to engage said stem and adjustable ,menibers carried by said rings ,and engaging said segments .forclamping the same against said stem.

'{References Citedin the file of-this patent "UNITED STATES PATENTS 2328;665 :Munson Sept. .7, 1943 2,627,501 Gardiner -Feb. .3, 19.53 "FOREIGN PATENTS 931,350 Germany, .-Aug. 8,195 297,826 :Switzerland June .16, 1904 

1. IN ELECTROLYTIC CELL CONSTRUCTION, A CELL COVER FORMED AS THE PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR OF ELECTRICITY FOR THE ANODES OF THE CELL, A ONE-PIECE ELONGATED STRIP OF CONDUCTING MATERIAL FORMING A SUPPORTING AND CONDUCTING BRIDGE POSITIONED ABOVE SAID COVER AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY ALONG THE LENGTH THEREOF IN SPACED RELATION WITH RESPECT THERETO, VERTICAL SUPPORTING MEMBERS RIGIDLY AND FIXEDLY SECURED AT THEIR LOWER ENDS TO SAID CELL COVER AND AT THEIR UPPER ENDS TO SAID BRIDGE MEMBER, AT SPACED POSITIONS ALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID CELL, SAID CELL COVER AND SAID BRIDGE BEING FORMED WITH A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF ALIGNED OPENINGS THERETHROUGH, A PLURALITY OF ANODE PLATES WITHIN SAID CELL, AN ANODE STEM EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM EACH OF SAID PLATES, ONE OF SAID STEMS EXTENDING THROUGH EACH OF SAID PAIRS OF OPENINGS, SAID STEMS EXTENDING TO A POSITION ABOVE SAID BRIDGE, SAID SUPPORTING MEMBERS FOR SAID BRIDGE BEING POSITIONED AT EITHER SIDE OF SAID STEMS, MOUNTING AND CONDUCTING MEANS CARRIED ON THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID BRIDGE AND SURROUNDING SAID STEMS, SAID MEANS INCLUDING ELEMENTS FOR CLAMPING SAID STEMS IN DESIRED VERTICAL POSITION AND FOR CONDUCTING CURRENT FROM SAID BRIDGE TO SAID STEMS, SAID CLAMPING MEANS INCLUDING ADJUSTABLE MEANS FOR ENABLING SAID STEMS TO BE ADJUSTED VERTICALLY, SAID BRIDGE AND SAID CLAMPING AND ADJUSTABLE MEANS BEING THE SOLE MEANS PROVIDING VERTICAL SUPPORT FOR SAID STEMS AND FOR CONDUCTING ELECTRICITY FROM SAID CELL COVER TO SAID STEMS. 